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Krischa had her future all planned out- graduate high school, attend a great college and live a happily ever after life with her high school sweet heart, Josh. Though she never expected her plans to come crashing down after being betrayed by the one person she loved the most.

Heartbroken, she finds comfort in the tall, dark haired, blue eyed stranger that walks into the bar one night, filling her with lust.

Leaving her small town, family and heart ache Josh behind she realizes she may have made a grave mistake and married the devil himself.

Regret has filled Josh's heart for 10 years after hurting the only person he'd ever loved. With no word on where she is, he aches to see her face again. Though he knows Krischa belongs to another, he can't help the want to get her back. When his phone rings out of the blue one day and he hears her voice he knows he will run through hell to bring her home.

Love and revenge at it's finest.

-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-

Candice lives in Laurel, Mississippi with her husband and energetic toddler.When she's not chasing her son around she runs her photography business or is stuck in front of her computer pounding out stories.Her first short story was published March 2013 and she is currently working on two more short stories along with the first book of a three part series to release in 2013.

Because of one ugly rumor, Chira lives as an outcast at her school. Which is fine with her, because she works better alone. Always has, always will. And at least she has her one and only true friend, Tasha. When Tasha insists that they join a group to visit a possibly haunted abandoned old schoolhouse, she's wary, but joins her friend. Because of that decision, their lives are in jeopardy as a malevolent spirit targets the group. Tragedies and accidents pick them off one by one, and Chira finds herself drawn to the one person who can see the truth. But can he protect her?

In simple language, Pauline Creeden creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling the veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long. Pauline is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy. Her books have hit #1 on the Amazon Bestseller List andArmored Hearts won the 2013 Book Junkie’s Choice Award in Historical Fiction.First Impression: A Shadow MavenParanormal is her first mystery. It’s a dark urban fantasy and will be releasedMarch 31, 2014.

Ben pulls open the office door and stands to the side to allow me to go first. The hallway that was empty only a short while ago is now full of kids and their incessant conversations. With a shrug, I eye his class schedule quickly. Except for second and sixth period, we have exactly the same schedule. He’s in all of the advanced classes, too. Only he has gym for second period, and Latin for sixth – opposite of my schedule, except I take French.

Piece of cake.

I glance up at him again, and his eyes meet mine. My breath hitches. Something in his intense gaze makes me feel like he’s measuring me. And there’s something strange about his eyes. They’re brown, but I can tell he has colored contacts. Why would anyone color their eyes brown?

Something about the way he’s looking at me makes my heart flutter. A sniffle escapes me before I can stop it. Ugh. I clear my throat and start in the direction of first period. “Follow me.”

We elbow our way down the freshman hall toward the second floor, but before we start up I point down the way. “Do you know what your locker number is?”

Ben nods and pushes his backpack up on his shoulder further.

I wait for a second and then smile. “What is it?”

“706.” He has a slight accent and his voice is deeper than I expect. I suppress a shiver at the jolt that the musical timbre of his voice sends through my body. I’m resonating like a tuning fork. I really want him to speak again with every fiber of my being. What’s with me?

“Uh…okay.” I swallow, trying to regain composure. And take him to the general area of the locker. “Here it is.”

He looks at it, nods, and returns his gaze to me.

“I know you don’t have any books to put in it, but do you want to try out the combination?”

He lifts one shoulder in a shrug and spins the combo quickly through the three numbers. I purposefully look around so he knows I’m not peeking. He opens the locker wide, nods toward me and then closes it again.

“Great. We have first period over here.”

“You and I have the same first period?”

My body vibrates again, and I blink hard. So glad my back was to him so he couldn’t see the effect his voice has on me. I swallow and face him. “Actually, yeah. Our schedules are very similar. It’s a smallish school so there’s only a few tracks that juniors can be on.”

He nods, and his eyes are half lidded as if he’s bored already.

I lead him toward our class room. “We don’t really have assigned seats, so you can pretty much sit anywhere you want. I’ll show you to the gym at the end of class. I have French next, but it’s not too far from there.”

I lead him to the front of the class, and my friend, Tasha Brown gives me a wan smile and raises her eyebrows, looking back and forth between me and Ben. She mouths, Who’s that?

I roll my eyes and put up one finger toward her to let her know I’ll tell her in a minute. Then I turn to the teacher. I hand him the schedule from the office. “Hi, Mr. Scott. This is Ben Oscuro, a transfer.”

Mr. Scott sets down the Mountain Dew he was drinking and offers Ben a wide grin. He puts a hand out for him to shake. Ben hesitates but takes the hand in what looks like a firm grip. Mr. Scott shakes his hand afterward. “That’s some grip you’ve got there.” He laughs and leans down to the bottom drawer of his desk and hands Ben a Geography text book.

With a nod, I return to Tasha and squeeze into the desk next to hers. Because I’m at Jackson Hall partially on scholarship and partially on my father’s insurance money, I’m somewhat of a social pariah. My only real friend is Tasha, a pariah herself, being one of the few African-American kids in the school. Still she tends to be more popular than me, because at least her family does have money. And then there’s that rumor…

“So who is the new hottie?” Tasha hops up and down in her seat.

I shake my head at her. “You are one big hormone, you know that? Sure, he’s cute, but is there any guy in the room you don’t consider a hottie?”

Tasha scans the room, considering for a moment with her hand on her chin and a very serious expression on her face. Her hair is in the typical pigtail braids she usually uses to play up the uniform. She has on no sweater, and her shirt is one size too small, causing the buttons at the front to bow and expose part of her red bra. Finally she returns her gaze to me. “There’s only one guy in here that doesn’t rank hottie.”

“Really? Who?”

She leans in conspiratorially and whispers, “Mr. Scott.”

I nearly choke on a laugh as I eye the middle aged, balding teacher at the front of the room. But I have to admit, Jackson Hall is a prep school. And no one can afford to make their children look their best more than the wealthy. I guess if I take my father’s words to heart, it’s better to be the poor kid in the rich kids’ school…than the other way around. Right?

Tasha’s smile returns and I follow her gaze to figure out why. Ben Oscuro walks down the aisle between us and takes the desk right behind mine. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. He smells like pine and mint, and it reminds me of the outdoors. When I open them again, Tasha’s smile has grown impossibly wider. She leans towards me and whispers, “What was that you said about hormones again?”

Jade is only beginning to unravel her own secrets. Facing fate, a murky past and a brutal inner battle, Jade must become what she fears without giving into the darkness.

If she doesn't, the world will be devoured by Fire and Shadows.

-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-

-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-

Author Bio:

Rochelle grew up dreaming up stories. When she entered high school, she tucked away her creative side and jumped head-first into academics, work, and service projects. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Political Science and Communication when she was twenty years old. After years away from her writing, Rochelle picked up a pen and started fleshing out a character sketch that she outlined when she was twelve. That sketch was the start of the Ashes and Ice story. Rochelle lives in the DC metro area with her husband and daughter. Fire and Shadows is her second novel.

Plagued by wicked thoughts, she searches for answers. Instead, she finds a boy who doesn't offer her answers, but hope. But sometimes, when nightmares turn into reality and death follows you everywhere, hope is not enough.

LUST. LOVE. LOSS. Sometimes, all that is left are Ashes and Ice.

-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-

Praise for Ashes and Ice:

"For me, Ashes and Ice was a work of art. Rochelle Maya Callen wove a very intricate tale. A love story of sorts. Dark and sinister yet full of hope and light. Callen painted her world brilliantly. This story was intoxicating and electric. I was captivated to the very end."

-Shelley Bunnell, TSK TSK What to Read

"Dark and Wicked." -- The Book Diaries

"Dreamy and Poetic." -- L.L. Hunter, Author

"A stunning debut." -- Owlnestly Reviews

"This story will rock you to your core." -- The Shadow Realm

“Fans of Anna Dressed in Blood and Beautiful Creatures will love Ashes and Ice!”

Thanks for dropping in, I do hope you love the next installment in Rochelle Maya Callen's Dark YA fantasy and if you haven't read book I, get it, you will love it.

I'll be back later in the week, so stay tuned for more fabulous novels and don't forget that you can follow my blog by GFC, Bloglovin, email, Linky, RSS & Networked Blogs so you never miss another post!

These books are horse and Christian
focused and aimed at around 10 years of age.
The first two in the series are titled New Beginnings and In Pursuit
of a Horse. To follow the progress
of this series, be sure to bookmark http://www.freereinseries.com/
and check in regularly. You can also
follow Free Rein on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/FreeReinSeries

A job transfer for Jacqui King’s father
means that the 10 year old and her family have moved interstate. Jacqui is excited that the move has allowed
her family to take up a lease on a large property.

Since she could remember, Jacqui King has
had a love for horses. Now with the
family’s move she wonders if her dream to learn to horse ride could come
true. Jacqui’s mum Kate plans to turn
the property into a place where they can offer horse agistment, only concreting
Jacqui’s desire to have a horse of her own.

On a property titled Genesis, it does
indeed seem that the new beginnings for the King family are looking promising.

-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-

Book
2 of the Free Rein series: In Pursuit of a Horse

Jacqui King has settled in well at her
family’s new property Genesis. She has
even made some horsey friends.

Jacqui’s two close friends Hannah Johnston
and Geordie Smith have been told by their parents that they are allowed to each
get a pony. It so happens that Hannah
has an Aunt Jan who breeds and trains ponies for a living.

An invitation is extended to the girls to
come to Jan’s place for a short stay to ride her ponies and find two to
buy. Jacqui is thrilled at the idea of
learning to ride better.

Even more exciting is the fact that at the
end of their stay, her two close friends will be bringing their ponies back to
agist at Genesis. Even if she isn’t
getting her own pony, Jacqui is delighted for her friends and eager to help
them each find their perfect first pony.

-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-

About
the author

Christine Meunier considers herself
introduced to the wonderful world of horses at the late age of 13 when her
parents agreed to lease a horse for her.
She started experiencing horses via books from a young age and continues
to do so, but recognises that horses cannot be learnt solely from books.

She has been studying horses from age 16,
starting with the Certificate II in Horse Studies and is currently undertaking
her Bachelor of Equine Science via distance education.

She has worked at numerous Thoroughbred
Studs in North East Victoria before following her passion for breeding horses
over to the Irish National Stud in Kildare.
She then gained experience in a couple of Melbourne based horse riding
schools, instructing at a basic level before heading off overseas again, this
time to South Africa to spend hours in the saddle of endurance and trail horses
on the Wild Coast.

Keen to combine her love of horses with her
faith, she has created the Free Rein series, a horse series for pre-teens.

-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-

An excerpt from ‘New Beginnings’, book 1 of the Free
Rein series:

Jacqui King let her eyes follow the flight path of a large pelican
as it soared above their car, seemingly oblivious to the vehicles below
it. She smiled at the sight. The ten year old was excited. This was dampened only as her older brother
once again spoke negatively about their current situation.

“I don’t understand why we had to move from the country in one state
just so that we could spend time in the country in another state. Seriously dad, couldn’t you have not accepted
the transfer at work?” Ross King asked for what felt like the millionth time to
Jacqui.

The family of four had been on the road for around 10 hours,
travelling interstate to their new home.

Jacqui’s father had been offered a position at work that had excited
both of her parents. Unfortunately it
had meant moving interstate halfway through the year and leaving behind many
family members and friends.

Jacqui’s apprehension had been made smaller when her mother had
talked of the 100 acre property that they would be leasing in Victoria. Her excitement had grown further still when
she was told that the property used to be set up for agistment and it was
Kate’s hope – Jacqui’s mother – that this would be a future possibility for the
whole family. After all, a large
property would be expensive and needed justification by earning its keep,
Jacqui had been told.

From a young age Jacqui had dreamt of horses. Whilst living in the country in South
Australia with her family, she had had opportunities to be led on friends’
ponies but that was all. It seemed that
only now would Jacqui be able to pursue her ultimate dream of having her own
horse – and on their property!

Tuning out her brother’s ongoing list of complaints about their
move, Jacqui took in the houses and land that they drove past, hoping theirs
looked as wonderful. Large brick homes
stood behind well manicured green lawns, roses lining driveways in full
bloom. It looks so wonderful.

Half an hour later the Kings made their way down a dead end street,
Kate excitedly telling Jacqui that their property was at the end of this
road. Jacqui sat up taller in the back
seat, eager to see their property as soon as she could. She chanced a glance in her brother’s
direction, noting sadly that he had his eyes closed and the earphones of his
ipod in place.

“Here we are!” Kate breathed out excitedly, opening her door as Tony
put the car into park.

Accepting a key that her husband handed her, Kate made her way
quickly to the gate that was pulled shut over the driveway, a large padlock
keeping it closed. An old wooden sign
half hung from the gate, the name of the property on it in faded white
paint. Genesis. Jacqui smiled as it
seemed that her mother almost skipped in her excitement.

The padlock was unlocked quickly and Kate got back into the
car. Tony drove down the curved
driveway, heading for where he knew the house was.

Jacqui didn’t notice the lack of carefully manicured lawns or roses
lining the drive in bloom. She was too
in awe of the large open paddocks that seemed to go on and on. Just
how big is 100 acres? She grinned,
already picturing herself racing across them on a little grey pony. This is
going to be great!

Ross awoke in time to race his sister into the house, claiming the
largest of the three available bedrooms for either of them. Kate and Tony had taken the main bedroom
close to the front door. Jacqui chose
the smallest of the three rooms left, concluding that a smaller space of her
own meant less she would have to keep clean.

She placed her suitcase on the bed that had already been made up by
their mother a few days prior.

Once things had been confirmed with Tony’s job and then with this
property, Kate had flown over to Victoria for a day to clean up the dusty old
house. She’d also made an extra effort
to make the bedrooms ready for her two children. Jacqui hadn’t liked her mother being away for
a night but that was over and done with now.

She opened up the curtains that covered the one window in her room
and looked out over two large paddocks that were behind the house. This
place really is huge! Glancing back
at her bed, Jacqui grinned.

She ran to the end of it and sat back to face the window, swinging her
legs happily. And I can see right out of the window onto paddocks that will have
horses in them – all from my bed!

As far as the ten year old was concerned at
this very moment, things were perfect.

-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-

An excerpt from ‘In Pursuit of a Horse’, book 2 of the
Free Rein series:

Jacqui grinned as she trotted along on the little grey
pony Prince that Jan had helped to saddle up for her that morning. She was riding in a smaller paddock with
Geordie and Hannah also trotting on their ponies. Jan stood in the middle, watching the three.

“Now I know that I said the main points to focus on
whilst here are safety and fun, but that doesn’t mean that we should stop
learning. In fact, learning is fun,
especially when it’s about horses! So
girls, do you each know about trotting diagonals?” she questioned, gaining a
nod from the three.

Jacqui suddenly thought that she was glad Kara had
taught her what they were and explained why it was important to rise to the
pattern of a particular foreleg.

“Great! Now I
want you to all look down at the outside front leg of your horse. Are you moving in time with it?”

Jacqui realised she wasn’t and so sat two beats of the
trot before she started rising again.
This changed her diagonal so that she was rising and falling with the
outside leg.

“Good job, Jacqui!
Now all three of you are on the correct diagonal.”

Jan encouraged the three girls to change direction and
their trotting diagonal, one at a time.
She reminded them about the importance of riding at a safe distance from
each other, pointing out that Geordie and Hannah’s two ponies sometimes didn’t
get along.

Geordie and Hannah wanted to jump, expressing this to
Jan. With a smile she told them that
there would be plenty of time for that in a few days. She wanted them to get to know her ponies
first – and for the ponies to get to know the girls! Jacqui liked this idea. She’d done a tiny bit of jumping on Banjo
with Kara, but the idea of jumping on a horse she’d only ridden once seemed a
bit scary to her.

-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-♥-

I hope you've enjoyed today's post, and I'll be back early next week.

Have a fabulous weekend and don't forget that you can buy these gorgeous books direct from Christine, see the link above and I'm sure she'd sign them for you too.

~Tales of Ever is suitable for readers 10 and up. Originally
written as a novella series, it has been reworked and is now available as a
complete novel.

A few months ago, I was a normal girl. Life sucked, and just
like everyone else, I took the simple things for granted. At least until I got
this new power, a "gift" mom called it. Apparently, I'm a
firestarter. I didn't want to be. I didn't ask to be. It would be cool if
it wasn't so dangerous and I knew how to control it. When an uncle I'd
never heard of showed up to take care of me after my mom died, I should have
been grateful. As it turned out, my whole family isn't normal and more than a
little bit crazy. I thought things couldn't get any worse. I was
wrong.

They banished me to Ever.

*
* * * *

Welcome to Ever.

Ever; a deadly realm where feared, powerful, and dangerous
magical beings are banished. It's not a world, but a magically created prison
you can never break out of. Who, or what, made Ever? I've no idea. They were
powerful, and cruel. That is all I can tell you.

Ever is like, and unlike, every other world. Nothing is
safe. Safety is a dream. Ever is a nightmare. Few survive their first day.
Nothing is what it seems. If something appears safe, it isn't. If something
appears dangerous, well it is, but probably more than you think.

Ever has no sun, no moon, and no stars at night. Time is
told by the ever changing color of the sky where portals open, dropping new
inhabitants or new terrors. Time does pass. Don't worry, you won't get old. You
won't live that long.

The landscape changes without reason from desert to jungle.
The flora isn't safe at any time. There is food, if you can find it without
getting eaten yourself. Most plants and animals are poisonous. So is the water.

Are you afraid? You should be. This is the end. It gets
worse of course. Remember the portals? Do you think angels come through?
Innocent people rarely do. Mostly, it is evil people, people too powerful to
kill. Their magic works here. The creatures are worse.

Do you understand? Well, you will eventually, or you'll die.
There is no escaping Ever.

Jen Wylie resides
in rural Ontario, Canada with her two boys, Australian shepherd and a
disagreeable amount of wildlife. In a cosmic twist of fate she dislikes the
snow and cold.

Before settling
down to raise a family, she attained a BA from Queens University and worked in
retail and sales.

Thanks to her
mother she acquired a love of books at an early age and began writing in public
school. She constantly has stories floating around in her head, and finds it
amazing most people don’t. Jennifer writes various forms of fantasy, both
novels and short stories.

Nowtheyhoverovertheroadas
Irun. If I didn't know better, I'd
think they were only mirages from the heat. They
aren't real. They never are. Nothing burns, there is no heat. I hate seeing
them. Every time they appear, I wonder if I'm crazy.

Glaringatmywatch,Iroundtheblock.Schoolsuckedtoday, as usual.I'verunfartherandfasterthanInormallydo,tryingtopushallmystupidproblemsaway while trying to ignore the fire.

Thelastyear I'vebeenunsettled.SometimesIget uncomfortablehotflashes.Idon'tunderstandwhy.Momgetsthemsometimes,too.Shesaysnottoworryaboutit. I wish I could, but I know I'm too
young for such things and they have been coming more often.

Ican'ttellheraboutseeingthefire,oraboutthedreams. She
wouldn't believe me and I don't want to put more stress on her.

We doYogaandthathelps.Sodoesrunning.I'vedonealotofbothas the months pass and things only get
worse.

Of course seeing firesets me apart,too. The fear of someone finding out how weird I am forces me to
keep my distance. I know normal people don't see fire
like I do, but someseemobsessedwithit.Iwatchthemplaywithmatchesandlightersoutsideatschool and I
only shake my head. I'mnotobsessed.What Iseescaresme. If I could, I'd choose to never see
the flames again.

GoodReads

The Seraphoenix Saga Book I

The Seraphoenix Saga Book II

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About Me

I've always loved books, and I've been penning stories for as long as I can remember. However, I have been writing seriously for the last few years, completing several published novels under a pseudonym before I started to write for the Young Adult paranormal genre.
I'm an avid reader too, and spend a lot of time at Amazon.co.uk looking at all the new releases and adding more books to my ever growing collection on a weekly basis. Now I just need the time to get through the back-log.
One thing I can't live without is Post-it Notes, in all different colours too, I'm a Post-it Note Addict!
I also love animals and would love a small farm one day so that I could rescue waifs, strays and orphans.